Two Italian nationals convicted of left-wing domestic terrorism in Italy decades ago on Thursday turned themselves in to French justice authorities, according to the Paris prosecutors’ office.
Luigi Bergamin, aged 72, and a former member of the group Prima Linea, voluntarily presented himself at the Paris courthouse in the morning, while Raffaele Ventura, aged 71, identified as a former member of the Communist Combatant Units, did the same later in the day.
Seven other Italians were arrested at their homes in France on Wednesday and like the two who surrendered Thursday, they were convicted in Italy of crimes dating to the 1970s and 1980s and included several former members of the Red Brigades.
The move comes as part of a decisive operation by Paris and Rome on a law enforcement matter that had been at a standstill since the 1980s.
Bergamin was sentenced to 16 years, 11 months and one day for his role in the murders of two law enforcement officers and was convicted of belonging to an armed group, instigating attacks aimed at undermining the state amongst others.
Italian media also identified him as a co-founder in the late 1970s of Armed Proletarians for Communism (PAC), and newspaper archives from the period also cite that association.
He was arrested several times in Paris but released in 1985 and again in 1990, according to Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Ventura was sentenced in Italy to 24 years and four months in prison for the 1977 murder of a police officer, Custra Antonio, in Milan.
All of the individuals arrested this week fled Italy and sought refuge abroad before they could be imprisoned to serve their sentences.
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